In terms of
cross-promotional creativity, I must give credit to Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, a movie meant as a viewing companion
to the newest video game. Much of the computer animated film resembles the cutaway
scenes featured between game play, which often makes the lack of audience
participation even more noticeable. Though the visuals are remarkable, this
glaring issue with video game films is only increased in a movie that is
included with the purchase of the game. If nothing else, this film should have
the ability to encourage viewers to play the game instead.

History has
gotten far more entertaining since I was a kid in school, with even documentary
specials such as “Barbarians Rising” making use of spectacle. Recreation
footage has long been used in documentary programs, but it is done with real
actors and production values in this series. The result is an engaging
narrative framework for the history lesson, even if this approach means
sacrificing a complete account of events.

Declared one of
cinema’s greatest ironists decades after the period of his greatest success as
a filmmaker, Douglas Sirk was given a place in film history thanks to the
efforts made by French scholars in their development of the auteur theory. Sirk
primarily worked in melodramas of the middle and upper class, leading to subtle
social commentary and satire. Sirk is probably best known for the soap opera
melodramas he made in the 1950s, which served as a dissection of the culture during
that era, but this two-film set includes two of his films from the 1940s. Both
are set in Europe despite being made in America
and both are a reminder of the fact that Sirk was a European filmmaker, only
forced to make movies in America
through the displacement of WWII.

Can I review Ghostbusters without discussing gender
roles? Is that even possible at this point? It has gotten so that the
controversy is so connected to the film that it will live on far longer than
the actual quality of its filmmaking would have allowed otherwise, just as was
the case with The Interview, the
comedy that brought threats of war despite being entirely forgettable. Ghostbusters was merely another in a
series of franchise-reviving blockbusters, sanitized so much for modern
audiences that it lacks the charm from the original. This has nothing to do
with gender roles and everything to do with the artistic side of film being
sacrificed in effort toward guaranteed financial success.

We seem to be
entering a phase of intellectual horror films, following the extremely visceral
style of the last decade. Suddenly movies with psychological depth are
succeeding over the generic spectacle, so that we have movies like The Witch, The Babadook, Goodnight Mommy,
and The Neon Demon replacing the days
of endless Saw sequels. The Wailing is South Korea’s answer to these
films, distinct in its national style by the sense of humor and in many ways it
the country’s own take on a masterpiece like The Exorcist.

The X-Men franchise has weathered the many
ups and downs of the superhero genre, as it was originally a trailblazer for
comic book blockbusters. In order to continue the narrative, this franchise had
to reinvent itself with a series of prequel films, which have also utilized
time travel and origin stories to include the most popular of the X-Men
characters, Wolverine. The other
aspect of the X-Men movies which
keeps them continually fresh is the seemingly endless supply of mutant
characters to add, allowing for the inclusion of new along with the comfort of
the familiar.

There is a lot
familiar about The Infiltrator. The
undercover cop narrative is far from original and doesn’t even have the luxury
of much crime action, suspense, or spectacle as a distraction from the
derivative elements of the narrative. What The
Infiltrator does have is Bryan Cranston in the lead role, able to bring
emotional intensity and suspense to a story somewhat lacking in both. This is Cranston’s film, even if
the screenplay doesn’t always meet the standards of its performer.

Frank Capra had
his first massive success with It
Happened One Night in 1934, a film that had such a massive cultural impact
that it was the first movie to sweep the Academy Awards and caused a massive
drop in the sale of undershirts after featuring Cary Grant without one. Capra
chose to follow up that screwball comedy with the socially conscious fairy
tale, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. It
would be a familiar trait in Capra’s films, giving audiences the entertainment
they wanted while giving society the message it needed.

Though these
films have both seen previous Blu-ray releases for the extended cuts of the
film (theatrical cuts were also included), this new release is just to remind
us that there is a new entry in the franchise arriving shortly. In case this is
not clear, there is a bright orange sticker on the front of each release,
announcing the inclusion of new footage of Inferno
in the special features. There are also a few new extras, and some footage
from the extended cut in replacement of that viewing option. Overall, this is
just an excuse to remarket the past product. There is no need for owners of the
last release to pay attention; this is not an upgrade.